Recently, researchers at Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) were reviewing hidden camera footage when they came across something strange. There were a number of small spotted animals scampering through the videos, stealing bait from traps placed around Mt Gibson Wildlife Sanctuary.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
The researchers had set the traps in order to humanely capture wild cats, who are local predators, and keep them out of the sanctuary. But now, these cheeky visitors were tampering with the traps, stealing the food inside and escaping before getting caught.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
The scientists knew the animals were quolls, fuzzy marsupials who live in Australia and New Guinea. However, they were eager to find out how old these quolls were. Many quolls had been released into the sanctuary, but the scientists hadn’t yet confirmed whether these quolls had reproduced. If the quolls in the footage were babies, they’d make history as the first to be born at the sanctuary.
But how do you differentiate between wild quolls? It turns out, you just look at their spots.
“We compared their unique spot pattern against a reference library of all 45 quolls that were released at Mt Gibson over the last 12 months,” AWC field ecologist Erin Barritt explained in a press release.
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
After analyzing the spots, the team excitedly confirmed that these were baby quolls.
“Ecologists were delighted,” a representative from AWC told The Dodo. “[The quolls] are the first to be born [on the] sanctuary in around 100 years.”
Though they used to be locally extinct, it’s clear that western quolls are slowly making a comeback. Researchers are thrilled that, slowly but surely, these beloved animals are beginning to thrive once again.
“This is very exciting for the team,” Barritt said.
